GOP sweeps out Democratic machine in Georgia, dominant for century

ATLANTA - The last time a Republican was governor of Georgia, he was installed by occupying Yankees during Reconstruction. This time, Sonny Perdue -- an unknown just months ago -- rode into office on a wave of shocking Republican success in the only state that did not elect a GOP governor in the 20th century. <br> <br> The Republican tide swept out a Democratic machine that has run Georgia since 1872. Voters rejected war hero Senator Max Cleland along with the nation&#39;s longest serving statehouse house speaker, the state Senate majority leader and his son -- one of two congressional candidates Republicans defeated in districts drawn for Democrats. <br> <br> State GOP chairman Ralph Reed said the key was unifying Republican candidates behind the popularity of President Bush while reaching across racial and rural-urban divides that have proven the Georgia GOP&#39;s undoing in past elections. <br> <br> Reed said, ``In the past, Republicans in Georgia had been very good at saying what they were against and not as effective at saying what we were for. The turning point in this campaign was when our candidates associated themselves with a Bush brand of leadership that was conservative yet also compassionate, principled but also inclusive.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Representative Saxby Chambliss&#39; victory over Cleland helped the GOP recapture the Senate. <br> <br> Democrats once held power in Georgia thanks to lingering anger against the party of Lincoln. In recent years, they held on by forging a coalition of urban blacks, rural ``yellow dog Democrats&#39;&#39; and just enough suburban soccer moms won over by programs such as lottery-funded scholarships. <br> <br> But the coalition failed to deliver Tuesday, in part because rural voters angered by Governor Barnes&#39; success in shrinking the Confederate emblem on the state flag turned out in large numbers. Many teachers and suburbanites were angry at Barnes for his forceful attempts to reform education. And turnout was apparently low among urban blacks.

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